Around 20,000 current and former students at the Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College in South Carolina are at risk of data theft following a stolen laptop taken from a staff office. Data taken includes names, birthdates and Social Security numbers of both students and faculty going back at almost seven years.

The technical college will now use encryption software on all laptops and PCs, while those affected by the data breach are being contacted. The laptop was stolen on July 7 and an investigation is currently underway to try to identify those responsible.

"College officials were disappointed to learn that someone entered a staff member's office on campus and removed a computer," said Kim Huff, OC Tech VP of Business Affairs, in a statement. "We are evaluating our security controls to prevent further incidents."

Bulk personal information theft from universities has become popular, with data typically found on underground hacker forums.